The Co-op shelves online grocery plans

Aisle be having you: the Co-op has decided to focus on revamping smaller shops

The Co-op has quietly dumped its attempt to launch an online grocery service, just one year after unveiling grand plans to enter the rapidly growing market and fight back against rivals.

The embattled mutual had vowed to test four different delivery models in a bid to find a unique, profitable strategy in an expensive and competitive sector worth £7.7 billion.

But the Co-op has managed to launch just one trial — a collection service in Marple, Stockport, which has now ended. Retail chief Steve Murrells had said it was willing to take the investment hit to defend its market share.

“Evidence shows it replaces bricks-and-mortar sales and is margin eroding. But if you are not prepared to eat your own children, someone else might,” he said last year.